Black Pearls
by HPK
Summary: 'Bout Kel all grown up as a Knight of the Realm of Tortall. Say it LOUD and PROUD, gal! KNIGHT OF THE REALM OF TORTALL Whooohoooo! Anyhoo, this is my first fic. Has nothing to do with Squire, haven't read it yet. SECOND CHAPTER IS UP!!!!! Pls R&R.
1. Default Chapter

1Pro_NextMorn

Black Pearls - by HPK  
  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognise as Tamora Pierce's. Make this disclaimer go for the whole story, K?  
  
  
A/N: This is my first fic. I hope you enjoy it. I'm not used to this Author's note thingy, yet. Oh...Thanks to phredde for beta-reading this for me. My typing and grammar is atrocious. Without her, I don't know how you FF.N-ers could read this. Read her story, Limericks: The Sequel. It's coming soon. Pls R&R!!  
  
  
PROLOGUE  
  
Kel looked around at the calm, peaceful scenery surrounding her new home. Cleon came running up to her.  
  
"Err...Kel...my love...my pearl drop...my flower...the fire in my life...I've lost Jeremy again."  
  
Kel sighed. Ever since she had married Cleon, everything seemed to depend on her.  
  
"You lost him AGAIN??!!??!!"  
  
"Yes dear...sorry...pearl."  
  
Kel turned around and shouted.  
  
"JEREMY!!!!"  
  
A small toddler emerged from a cubby house and ran as fast as his short legs could carry him up to his mother. Kel gave him a sweet as a reward. She realised she couldn't leave him with his father for the weekend.  
  
"Cleon, I'm taking Jeremy with me to Corus."  
  
"No, no, no, no...I'll be fine...with Jeremy if you can tell me how to call him..and if you can teach me how to cook...the servants are on holiday...."  
  
  
  
THE NEXT MORNING  
  
Jeremy started whining as the carriage he was riding in bumped. Kel looked back. They were less than 3 metres away from the doorstep. It was going to be one, heck of a long, journey.  
  
In side the carriage, Cleon was attempting to hush the baby. He tried to rock the baby.   
He started crying even more.  
  
Cleon feeling incapable as a father asked Kel, "How do you do this?"  
  
"Support the head."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Hold the head so that the baby can feel comfortable...Goddess..men can be so daft..."  
  
Cleon made a face.   
  
"Well, pearl drop, that's what happens when we swap roles...can't you come in here?"  
  
"Cleon, who said he wanted to be a better father a few days ago? It was you and if you can't hold your baby properly, I cannot understand how you can be a better father if you can't do that.... and anyway, i went through practically the same treatment as you and I can still care for Jeremy. I can't see why you can't"  
  
"Well, flower, it's kinda hard. I don't have the feminine touch."  
  
"And me? I coped well being a knight,"  
  
"But that's different pearl drop"  
  
"Whatever. We're only about 100metres away from the house. I'll turn your horse back. I'll go into town and find somebody to help you. If I can't, you do it."  
  
Cleon smiled with relief but his temporarily calm face screwed up tightly as Jeremy kicked him in the (author clears throat) place.  
  
Kel continued her way to Corus. On her way, She could not find a nanny, she wrote to Cleon saying that he would have to cope on his own. Kel was anxious about this.   
  
  
  
A/N: I hope you liked that. Pls tell me if you did, or didn't. Thanks to my friends at school:  
  
phredde, YamaniPrincess, Avadriz and Ghristinga for helping me.  
  
R&R!!


	2. Chapter 2

Corus_Mindgames.html Black Pearl - by H.P.K  
  
A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed. Sorry, but I haven't read Squire yet, so the story has NOTHING to do with it. Also, I've had a few reviews on how my characters are OOC. Yeah, I know. Don't tell me any more about it, I can't write them In Character, OK? Anyway, maybe they've all changed, after all those years. I have a really good plot in my head right now.  
  
Hope you enjoy, read on, and don't forget to review!  
  
  
CORUS  
  
Kel reported her stay to Roald.  
"Your majesty.."  
"Keladry..what a lovely surprise. How's Cleon and Jeremy?"  
"Jeremy has proved too young to travel, so they are both at home."   
The court ladies giggled.  
A particularly evil one said out loud  
"Well well, well, a woman doing a man's job and her husband saying at home looking after the child!"   
The women surrounding her laughed but Roald shook his head disapprovingly.  
  
Kel fare welled, and left finding Neal waving energetically from his window.  
He pointed to the courtyard so Kel met him there.  
"Kel!!!! How are you? How's Jeremy? How's Cleon? How's your horse? How's your lawn? How's your new house? How's your food? How's your health? How's your travel here?"  
  
Kel answered, "All good..who's your new girlfriend? I got news that your last one left Corus in tears."  
"Actually, I married a couple of weeks ago."  
"AND YOU DIDN'T INVITE ME TO YOUR WEDDING?"  
Neal cast his eyes down.  
"Well, yeah..."  
"NEALAN!!"  
"Oh sorry, but, but...my wife...Cornelia..."  
  
A woman walked towards them. Kel recognised as the one that made the crude comment at the court. She grabbed Neal's arm and said overpoweringly,  
"Nealan, are you coming?" (rhetorical question)  
Neal had no choice but to follow, saying a weak goodbye to Kel.  
Kel kept her face Yamani smooth, but it was really hard, considering the anger boiling inside of her.   
She said aloud, "Well, I never..."  
  
  
MIND GAMES AND OLD MEMORIES  
  
Cornelia kept making fun of Kel wherever she went, either to train, talk, eat, sleep, wherever she went, so did Cornelia and her little group of followers. Soon she was sick of this underdressed, pretty woman. Taking her aside she asked her, "What's your problem?"  
"What do you mean? the only one here with a problem is you, KEL."  
"That's Sir Keladry to you. Why do you keep following me?"  
"We're following you?"   
The gaggle of women started giggling again  
One of them said quite nastily, "We just cannot believe a woman would sink so low as to become a man...like you."  
"It's almost like you're homosexual.."   
the hallway erupted into laughter.  
"What do you mean?"  
"You're like a man, Cleon is a man..."  
  
The hallway erupted into giggles again. Kel knew it was unknightly it was to draw a sword against a woman, no matter how sharp her tongue was. Kel kept Yamani smooth and said,  
"I can't believe geese like you would even consider yourselves human, much less, women"  
  
Kel bowed, turned her back and left, walking to the training field, her armour clanging. The woman shouted insults at her, but she just kept walking. She found this quite effective. By ignoring them, It seemed they got bored.  
  
One particularly bad day when she was training against Neal, and accidentally scratched him, Cornelia ran screaming into the field.  
"Nealan! oh NEALAN! WHAT HAS THE WITCH DONE TO YOU?'  
Neal looked surprised that his wife would make such a fuss over him. She was obviously being a drama queen.  
Kel said, "My apologies Neal.'   
Turning to Cornelia "It's only a scratch. If you had enough guts and brains to be a Knight, perhaps you would realise that knights always get hurt. A scratch is nothing compared to what Neal has seen.."  
  
Cornelia, not wishing to make a fuss (she saw the approaching king's mother) said urgently "Nealan! do something!!"  
  
When Thayet arrived, Kel bowed, as did Neal and the other ladies, but the ladies curtsied.  
"What's the fuss? Keladry? Is that you? Oh good! you've come!"  
"Yes, Your Majesty." Kel looked up. Thayet had lost her youth but still looked stunning...for her age.  
"Cornelia, do not scream, I heard you with my half deaf ears half way up the path. That was completely unladylike. behaviour. I'm disappointed." These words were devastating to her reputation but sparked hate in Cornelia against the King's mother. Later, as Neal and Kel sat, eating with pages, (Neal was escaping Cornelia and Kel was following him) Neal was very quiet. Kel realised he was much, much thinner.  
  
The pages started to exit hurriedly, Kel and Neal did not use this routine for quite a while.  
An old man hobbled towards them. He was very old and scarred but he looked tremendously strong, as he did when Kel first met him.  
"Lord Wyldon." Neal and Kel bowed in the presence of their former training master.  
"Sir Kel, Sir Neal, I presume you are well?"  
Neal nodded miserably, Kel answered "I am well."  
"And Cleon and your son....err.."  
"Cleon and Jeremy are fine.."  
"Good, good,"  
Neal just looked at the floor.  
Lord Wyldon said "I don't blame you for being sad, having a a wife like my daughter, I'm surprised you aren't dead yet"  
Kel asked shocked "Beg pardon?"  
Neal turned to her (Kel noticed he had sleepy eyes and slap marks on his face) "Oh, didn't I tell you? Cornelia of the Cavall house..She's Lord Wyldon's daughter."  
  
After excusing herself from Lord Wyldon, she went to her room. As she walked past, she recognised her own room. Curious as to who was in there, she knocked on the door. A small boy with chestnut hair and freckles opened the door nervously and to find an armoured knight standing outside, he must have had a big fright because he fainted on the spot. Kel was surprised at this reaction but his maid found an explanation.  
  
"Well, little Henry here has had a tough day. From a few days ago, these sparrows started invading his room and pecking him in the morning..you see, Henry is dead afraid of birds...a phobia I believe."  
Kel looked surprised but asked "Would you mind if I saw these birds?"  
the nurse shook her head. "no, come in sir."  
Kel stepped inside. The bath was removed, the bed was the same though. Kel smiled at the fond memories. And realised with disappointment how the people had changed, most of all Neal.  
Kel opened the small window and a sparrow that looked like Crown sat on her finger.  
"You one of Crown's children?"  
The small bird hopped then chirped shrilly.  
She smiled and took it up to her room in the hope that the birds would follow and leave the poor boy alone.  
  
A/N: Sorry, nothing much has happened, but I promise, promise, promise, that it will be exciting. R&R! 


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